Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead Update 1.63

Besides the numerous fixes and optimizations which were introduced during the 1.63 beta program which covered almost a 2 year period for this iteration of the engine, the update focuses on the transition of the multiplayer from GameSpy matchmaking to Steam.

As you may have heard, GameSpy is discontinuing its services and it was therefore of paramount importance to offer an alternative for the passionate Operation Arrowhead players who have supported our game and our company for so many years.

Due to the fact that Steam based matchmaking requires Steam to work, this update is only available through Steam. If you have purchased a retail copy of the game, please do not despair. As announced previously all Arma 2 (including DLCs and Operation Arrowhead expansion) keys may now be activated on Steam. Just follow this walkthrough (link), take your Arma 2 CD key, use it as a Steam product key, and the game will be added to your library.

For our other games affected by the GameSpy shutdown, but not updated to work with Steam (Arma 1, Arma Cold War Assault, Take On Helicopters), and also for those players who wish to stick with the older non-Steam version of the game, we have implemented a system to help host and connect to servers even without a functioning GameSpy - http://master.bistudio.com/. Here server owners may add their servers and players may use the listed IP addresses to connect to them. Also to help players overcome difficulties we have added a number of articles for each game to our FAQ (link) and as always our technical support staff is ready to help via support@bistudio.com.

For more information about Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead, please visit the official website at www.arma2.com.

VETERANS-GAMING is a Member Supported Community

Please Support Your Local Servers!

This is not a post to goad people into getting rid of their hard earned cash and Holiday bonuses, nor to debate the means by which we acquire the funds to keep this thing that is VG going, but as we move into the new year, I would like to encourage those who ARE able to give back to the community that keeps your favorite public servers online.

At present, we have compacted and compiled our fees to the most sensible and fiscally responsible means, including a rather cut-and-run migration of our community website which has cost us the loss of many images, video files, downloadables hosting, and even some problems viewing the multiple pages of posts under certain forum post catagories, to where we only need to come up with a rather minimum amount of monies to make ends meet and keep alive the servers and website that is VETERANS-GAMING.

We are able to offer Arma 2 and Arma 3 persistent servers and Community Event servers for both, private Minecraft Servers, a persistent Falcon BMS Korean War Campaign, as well as The Most Popular COOP Server for Battlefield 2: Project Reality Mod thanks to the =VG= PR Dev MelonMuncher, whom without his hard work, Project Reality COOP would not exist as a game mode for the masses to play anywhere.

We are working on the website issues, albeit an e107 system that even the webmaster SolarFlame has been taxed in repairing. Know that us head admins have it all covered - but it is a bit selfish for the two people whose names the bills are in to pay them all themselves. Regardless of whether we receive donations, SolarFlame and SavageCDN will continue to pay the website server and game server bills, but needless to say, they should not have to do so all alone.

If you ARE able, and are willing, please consider donating a few bucks to your local server, and show some love. The PayPal link on the front page has temporarily been changed to the person who has the most direct financial responsibility of costs at present, SolarFlame. He is a tribute to the hard work he has done, in that his experience and knowledge in technical matters over the years for this community was his only reference for his new job as a "drop in and help out" IT professional with a company in London, far from his home in Scotland. He deserves a little support from the community he helped create, in order to pay for the new website server now billing in his name.

Also, SavageCDN has been footing the bill for our game servers for more months than I can count - a very powerful server through which hard work and technical knowhow has been able to host not only the TeamSpeak 3 Server (100 Potential Clients at once) but also runs each and every public server we play on without conflict, lag, or any extended down time. Not bad for a single CPU server (8 cores, and tons of RAM) - he also deserves a little love before the wifey starts braining him with an iron skillet. All funds donated will be directy attributed to those who pay the bills here.

I, SemlerPDX, have taken up the task of keeping our Falcon BMS Online Campaign Server functioning; and a special thanks goes out to a little known VG Member, Belgriffin, who keeps that server hardware running and up to date year after year. This is my only way of donating at present, time spent each morning of each day in the week. Contact me if this has issues, and I will always drop what I am doing to keep the VG Korean Theatre of War available to all who would fly under the VG Flag. Also, know that the VETERANS-GAMING Founder BLuDKLoT is still with us, if only in spirit, as he has had difficulty lately with keeping an internet connection at his new home. Though he may not be around as often as he would like, I speak with him frequently and he is indeed still our heart and soul. Know that you can always contact me for anything you require, as I will always act with honor and respect as his right hand.

Please dig deep - current members, active =VG= administrators, new community members, and all the rest. Please show your support by giving what you can, and to those who donate already via time spent administrating and to those who give back in other ways, rest easy and keep doing what you do to promote and support your local servers. We know that not everyone can donate money, but even time spent keeping VETERANS-GAMING a clean, fun place to be is a way to donate - this request for cash is not geared at you. Simply put, we need cash from those ABLE - for all the rest, just keep showing your love by doing what you do, or simply populating our TS3 and game servers and promoting the COOP TeamPlay spirit that is VG.

This coming year, we plan to form an International Non-Profit Organization that will cooperate with wonderful Veteran based charities, such as Hope For The Warriors and others, which may help bring operation costs to a minimum - but we are not there yet! We need to have a proper professional website to break out into the great big world and actually do some good. For now, we are still at a stage that requires direct community support, and we humbly ask those who are able to donate cash to do so now.

Thank you for reading and thank you to all our supporters, either monetarily or administratorily.